South African township builds on Irish goodwill

2004-10-18T16:08:00+01:00

Irish builders volunteer to build 50 houses in Cape Town.

350 volunteers will travel from Ireland to Cape Town in South Africa this week to take part in the Niall Mellon Township Challenge to build 50 houses for some of the country’s poorest people in just a week.

Volunteers from every branch of the construction industry – bricklayers, labourers, carpenters, plumbers, plasters and roofers – have each raised £2,900 to cover the cost of travelling to South Africa and providing the materials to build the homes in Imiazamo Yethu, a township on the outskirts of Cape Town.

The Township Challenge was first held last year, after Dublin property developer Niall Mellon, visited the area and was so shocked by the poverty he saw there that he put up £0.75m to start a fundraising campaign to build 1000 homes in the township.

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